About four hours before the American League’s worst team played the AL East’s best Saturday, an Astros player spun manager Bo Porter’s Wheel of Fortune-like Flywheel inside the team’s tiny clubhouse.

The wheel spun and spun, with psychological code words and new-age help terms revolving in an orange-and-blue buzz.

The wheel ended at Porter’s favorite selection: break point.

Which is exactly where the 7-17 Astros are after another Fenway Park beatdown by a significantly stronger, deeper and better AL club.

The Red Sox (17-7) took the third contest of a four-game set just like they’d claimed the previous two, turning smarter hitting, smoother pitching and an efficient, powerful lineup into an 8-4 victory.

The Astros were gifted a surprising 2-0 first-inning lead when Red Sox starting lefthander Felix Doubront gave up a leadoff single to Jose Altuve, then proceeded to throw a wild pitch, hit a batter and walk four more.

The Astros trashed the present by the second inning. Righty Brad Peacock (1-3, 8.44) became the third Astros starter in three nights to leave the mound for good before the fifth inning arrived. Peacock’s performance wasn’t as off as Erik Bedard’s on Friday. But it was barely better than Philip Humber’s on Thursday. Combined, the trio allowed 24 hits, 17 runs and eight walks in 11 innings.

“I know we’re all better pitchers than what we’re showing out there,” Peacock said. “We’re a young team and … we’ll get out of it.”

Nearly a month into a new season, the Astros have a pitching problem. And a hitting problem. And a winning problem.

None are ultimately unexpected for a rebuilding team that lost 213 combined games the last two years and possesses baseball’s lowest active payroll. But the clear holes in the Astros’ starting rotation and everything from the offense’s MLB-leading 244 strikeouts (12 more Saturday) to a clear lack of execution with runners in scoring position (3-for-30 in the series) have placed a young club on shaky ground for the third time since the season began